Dated Brent benchmark used to trade almost two-thirds of the world’s oil
Crucial Brent oil benchmark undergoes metamorphosis
Start of the ‘new’ Brent amid shifting market realities
The pivotal Dated Brent benchmark, used to trade almost two-thirds of the world’s oil, is changing forever. Platts, part of information provider S&P Global Commodity Insights, said in January that the benchmark will reflect cargoes of WTI Midland crude in its Dated Brent, Cash BFOE and all related assessments across the Brent complex with effect from June 2023 deliveries. The controversial change reflects the fact that this US crude stream has become a regular staple in the European refining sector’s diet, while North Sea crude supplies are drying up. The move meant that, from 3 April, June Brent became the front month for the futures and forward Brent contract and will be trading under
Also in this section
13 April 2026
For GCC producers, the ceasefire may prove more destabilising than the war itself: exports remain constrained, and control over Hormuz has shifted in ways that could endure
9 April 2026
The April 2026 issue of Petroleum Economist is out now!
9 April 2026
Offshore operators are working through an FID backlog as the rig market consolidates, helped by improving project economics and a renewed security drive
2 April 2026
Alongside a rapid continued build-out of renewables, China’s latest five-year plan stresses the value of domestic hydrocarbon production for energy security and calls for increased Russian gas imports
